10 Years time
by WhatxStillxRemains
Summary: Dark hermione, 10 years on from the war. War is a time that defines us, and makes us who we are. It is a time for joy, but also greed, lust and losing everything down the rabbit hole
1. Chapter 1

I originally wrote this fanfic 2 years ago on the back of a newspaper. I am in the process of uploading it, so bear with me. If you don't like seeing a dark Hermione do not read. Ive lost the original first chappy.

0#Tears before Wake.

Hermione looked in the shattered looking glass by her bed, everything was shattered in her room that was made of glass, and sometimes she just liked to bleed to let all the pain escape. It was still her main urge, to prove to herself that she was still alive. She hated herself, but she hated everyone else more.

She done up her studded collar around her neck, tight, she liked it tight. She hated how humans were made to rely on breathing, to live.

She picked up her old class photo which was lying smashed under the bed. Those were the days, she thought to herself. She hadn't spoken to Harry and Ron ever since they made it clear that they did not want a drug addict as a friend. Dumbledore had told her to leave Hogwarts, where she was a charms apprentice.

She couldn't blame them, and yet she did, as she felt that as friends they could have helped rather than sat back and looked as she was falling.

That was when she was 21. Now she was 26 and spent her life between the local fetish bar Gothica Star, and her worn down apartment, in muggle London. She had pretty much given up magic these days, She hated it really for what it had done to her.

1# Would you admit defeat.

Another day, another struggle to raise the rent money ,for her muggle apartment. She flicked her dark limp hair from her twinkle less eyes. It was clear for anyone to see that this girl was just another junkie. She had a £500 a day heroin addiction, not to mention the hundreds of pounds she would spend on alcohol drinking away her fears every day.

So here she was at 11pm on a Thursday night, Drinking in Gothica Star, the local fetish bar. She liked it here because it was insanely private. You could go in and leave drunk and no one would even claim to seeing you if you lay dead in someone's ditch. And that suited her fine.

A man sat down beside her, she glanced over, hoping for someone to buy her a drink. This man seemed familiar though, now who was he, her drunken mind thought.

"What the effin hell are you staring at?" he sneered, swigging from his pint of Guinness. That voice, she knew it so well, that snaky cold tone. Yep, it was him alright.

"Hello Professor Snape." She said almost incoherently, obviously drunk.

The name hit him hard. He hadn't been called Professor in a long time. Ever since he was kicked out of teaching at Hogwarts. He looked at her..hmm..20 ish..he thought…so must have been one of my potions students, around the time of Potter. That name made him spit inwards.

"who are you?" he settled on , sobering up a little.

"Hermione. Sir" she said, never stopping to loose the formal Sir from her tone.

He laughed, always the good, perfect student. Know-it-all, the name suited her so well.

"What the hell are you doing in a place like this?'' He asked.

"where else would take a mudblood like me." She stated bitterly, lighting a joint.

He frowned at her but did not say anything. He did not think it was wise. Obviously he wasn't the only one who had sunk low for a form of escape from the war.

"Whatever happened to you, Miss Granger?" he asked cautiously, as if she was a ticking bomb.

"One night, I realised that I was not the person everyone wanted me to be. I was a holy lovely perfect child, and I hated it, I wanted to prove that maybe Hermione Granger could be someone new, could stand up on her own two feet. I guess I just wasn't ready. Professor. I hate Harry Potter. He has damaged me so much without realising it. I always had to stand in his shadow, while he got all the glory." She said quickly, muttering.

"stop calling me Professor, or Sir. Your not a child anymore, besides you don't dress like a child." He said pointing to her micro mini skirt. To be honest, he couldn't look at her without thinking of the little bushy haired girl that had been in his class all those years.

"Are you calling me a slut! I'd have you know, Snape, I've never slept with anyone in my entire life." she asked, tears falling from her eyes.

For the life of him he didn't know why he did the next thing that he did, he put his arm around her. He had never done that in his life before. "I didn't mean that", he said , "I just meant, well, you don't dress like you did when you were 17. I think you look rather pretty." He said then looked the other way, realising that he just complimented her.

She nodded. Slightly amazed and aware that he complimented her. "Another drink?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"Ok, I'll just have an orange juice. Ice and lemon slice please" She said to the bartender.

He pushed her drink to her and went back to the other side of the bar.

"Whats going on in the magical world then?" she asked.

"Nothing, not a damn thing, that's what worries me. 10 years and the world hasn't progressed at all.

Dumbledore kicked me out of the order. Apparently Potter told him I was relaying info to the Dark Lord about him. So now I just work for Voldemort. "

Hermione nodded. Death and evil did not worry her these days. They went hand in hand with her daily life.

"hmm..full time death eater.. very interesting career move." Hermione said.

"Their recruiting now, they lost so many members during the war. Voldemort isn't even evil so much now; he's gone a tad soft really. Although when he gets followers again he'll go back to being the evil man we all love to hate." Severus said plainly. He did not fear torture anymore now he could freely let Voldemort invade his mind without fear of him finding something about the order.

"I want to join." She said looking at him.

Ok that's it for now, ill update more soon, review if you like or just review with a couple of pointers, anyone want to beta?


	2. Chapter 2

The look on his face was priceless, Hermione Granger, Greatest witch ever to attend Hogwarts, Ex-charms apprentice, muggleborn. asking to join the Death eaters. Well now, things like that didn't happen just every day. There were many reasons why he should have just walked away from her, after all she had been a child when the war had happened.

Although, he thought, looking at her, this damaged, difficult, woman was not the same little girl he had taught all those years ago. She was just like him, a casualty from a war that was over before it began. He thought of the supposed hero's of the war, Dumbledore, Potter, Weasley, Granger. All of them seemed to have fallen from grace, in different ways. Obviously Granger, was as bitter as he was of the turn of events. He had always since he was cast aside by Dumbledore, for ease , felt a strong hatred to the Ex-Fatherly figure. Every scar he had had to face from his spying days, still shone white on his body. If she wanted to fight, get revenge like he did than , god's he would let her.

"**I shall take you to him, If that is what you truly wish?**"

He said, as a final question. A part of him hoped she would run through the door and never look back and go back to where ever she came from. The other part of him, a very small part, longed for some human company, rather than the company of monsters he was used to. That was one thing he was certain of, Hermione granger was not a monster, just a sad example of what can happen to those of us that get left behind.

"**Yes. This is what I wish."**

She said plainly, amazed that he was doing this for her. If she had still been, the child she had been at the start of the war she would have cursed him where he sat. But she was not. She was hungry for power, hungry for salvation. She would avenge those who had cast her aside for someone better. She had been used 1 too many times. This was not the girl who had grown up at hogwarts, this was the woman who had lost everything in a pointless war.

His mark burnt. He knew Voldemort knew of these events that were transpiring. He had spies everywhere, especially when a new member was suggested.

"**If you're really sure…"**

he started…

"**hold my hand and we shall apperate together"… **

she merely took his hand as they disappeared into the darkness. She was amazed at how warm his hand was. She expected it to be cold. She wasn't sure why, she just did. He on the other hand was shocked to feel how cold her hand was.

They appeared where Hermione summarised was the mountains. The air was fresh and the ground was hard. She guessed that a spell had been used to make the cavern as it was, she knew enough about caves to know that it would be very rare to have one so well carved. She felt her left pocket. Her wand was there. This was odd as it had been sitting in a drawer in her room.

"**Severus."**

A voice boomed in a snake like way.

Hermione turned around. The dark lord was there, but he had changed greatly since the last time she had laid eyes on him. He had become more human looking, although she had a feeling that this was some form of extended glamour spell.

Snape bowed. Hermione did the same, wondering if this was what she should be doing.

At once a great pain filled her head, unlocking many memories that had remained hidden for years. Being bullied by Weasley in her first year, being almost killed by a Troll, Her uncle dying of cancer, the first time she drank, her first drugs experience, getting worse results than Harry in defence against the dark arts, Harry beating her in potions with a book which let him cheat. Ron cruelly rejecting her when she asked him out, Harry Laughing. All sorts of school memories flooded her brain. She felt anger, resentment.

"**Miss Granger, Do you know that becoming one of us is a lifelong commitment? If you walk away now your soul will remain pure, after that there is no going back. I do not take kindly to wizards that waste my time.".**

The dark lord boomed.

"**My soul has never been pure, My Lord."**

She said.

**''Besides the path I have chosen has been my own. So yes, I am aware that this night will be the first night in a new era. I remember what you said to Potter. There is no good or evil, only power, and those too weak to seek it."**

"**Very well. I shall not warn you anymore. **

**Bow before me and give me your left arm." **

Hermione walked forward silently, utterly submissive. She felt no fear in what she was doing, only a rush of adrenaline. She handed the dark lord her left arm, and waited for the pain to sear through it.

**"It is done, miss granger."**

The dark lord said , there was an edge to his voice, almost a humanly ness that he had never had before.

She looked down. It had been painless. On her arm sat the dark mark, beautifully set against her pale wrists. She felt nothing. She did not feel betrayal as she had been betrayed by the 'good' side many years ago.

"**Now, Severus, Hermione. I have a task that only you two can complete. It is a test for you Miss Granger, which will show where your loyalties truly lie. I want you to kill Harry Potter. The means on how to do so will be your own, and you may trace him yourself, however I believe that Miss Granger already has an Idea about where he may reside."**

"**Diagon Alley." **

Hermione said questionably. She knew it was the first magical place that Harry had come into contact with, and that he had a strong affiliation with it.

"**Then that is where we shall start."**

Snape said.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione blinked as they apperated to muggle London. For one thing she was no longer used to the swish feeling of all her partials moving momentarily through space, also she wasn't sure why they didn't just apperate straight to Diagon ally, but she was sure Snape had some underlying reason, even if he did not share it with her.

"**Stop."** Snape said, standing outside a muggle jewellery store.

Hermione looked up, wondering why they had stopped walking. They were no where near Diagon Alley she thought.

"**We should say that we're engaged."** Severus said, thinking out loud. "**that way potter, won't think that we're up to anything untoward, just visiting an old friend. He'll think you've cleaned up and that you've saved me from myself."** He babbled slightly. A part of him thought that this was a good idea, the other part thought it would lead to other complications later down the line. He didn't honestly think that Potter was going to welcome either of them into his home, after what he knew about them both. Severus Snape, suspected Death eater, and Hermione granger, drug addict and alcoholic. Still he hoped that the ties of friendship between Hermione and Harry were still there on Potters side.

Hermione looked up; he looked slightly nervous, she thought.

"**Sounds like a good plan**" she said, lighting a cigarette. She didn't stop to think about it really, she trusted him. She did not know why, part of her head could barely get used to calling him by his first name. Severus. She liked the sound of it, but it sounded foreign on her tongue. She thought that he was doubting her, to some degree, but her mind was made up. She was only a shell of what she once was. She was, she thought to herself, almost like Betrix Lestrange when she escaped from Azkaban, Mad and dangerous. The old Hermione would never have thought this , she thought.

She peered in the window at the rings, she was an expert on valuable objects, having pawned all her jewellery years ago, she even stole to sell from some people to fuel her addictions.

"**I like that one."** She said pointing to a simple diamond ring. She transfigured a nearby pebble into the ring. It suited her , she thought. She laughed to herself, then looked up at Severus when he gave her an odd look.

"**Just remarking on how normal I will never be, marriage, children. Something I'll probably never have."** She said, an underlying sadness and bitterness in her voice.

"**Me neither."** He said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his voice.

She thought for a second. Perhaps the two of them were more alike than they had previously thought. They had met in a bar seeking oblivion for the night. That was fate right? Not that she believed or cared about these simple things that would make Professor Treorwny happy. Fate, Pah!

They took one look at each other before walking forwards. Both stepped forward at the same time. Severus held out his arm. Hermione took it. It was just a gesture, but for some reason it sent sparks shooting straight up her arm, she shivered inadvertently.

She had always been good at drama and acting, she had taken a muggle course in it during one of her summer breaks. She could play any part perfectly, without even stopping to think. But this time she was not playing a part. And that scared her slightly. She still had her old childlike self stored in the back of her brain and this betrayal scared her. But she remembered all the shit that Potter and Weasley had put her through during the last years she was in the wizarding world. And she wanted out of being the girl who was expected to take all the crap that the sexist pigs threw at her. She was cross, how they just rejected her. How everyone rejected her.

"**Lets go."** Severus said. He truly was a man of little words at the moment. He was worried that she was going to back out at any moment.

They walked in silence for a while, until they reached the Leaky cauldron, neither could think of much to say about anything. They had no plan, no ideas really, it really was a slapdash situaton. Hermione could see already that this was not going to be easy. The wall outside was plastered with potter commercials for his latest quiddich book. Hermione highly suspected that it was only a picture book. Harry wasn't one for writing.

They entered the pub slowly, Hermione was relieved when no one gave her a second look. Obviously she had changed beyond reconism. She had glamored her hair quickly so it was super straight, and had transfigured her outfit so she looked smart. To the outside world she probably looked like a muggle journalist or politician, which really made her look like she had cleaned up her act. The faint smell of smoke still lingered on her clothing though. But there wasn't much she could do about that apart from putting heavy perfume on.

She saw a man at the bar that she recognised as Alex Silverstone, A ravenclaw who was the year below her at Hogwarts. She had helped him a few times with his homework essays when she had started to sit with Luna at lunchtimes. She went over to him and whispered a few words. He looked at her surprised and wrote something down.

She smiled and uttered a word of thanks and returned to Severus.

"**I have his address".** She said plainly.


End file.
